AP: Constable's mysterious death creates trouble for IPS officer

August 03, 2009 20:31 IST

Andhra Pradesh government has ordered a high level probe in to the mysterious death of a State Armed Reserve force constable P Murlinath, who was sent to New Delhi at the behest of a senior Indian Police Service officer to work at the home of his daughter.

Murlinath was found dead near the tracks in Jaithpur village near Gawallior in Madhya Pradesh on July 29, after he had gone missing from the IPS officer's home in Noida.

The additional director general of police and the chief of anti terror wing Octopus Vivek Dubey is finding himself in tight corner over the entire episode as explanations have been sought why the constable was sent to work as the driver at his daughter's place, how the person landed in Gawalior, where he was found dead.

Constable's family was also shocked by the fact that within 24 hours after recovery of the body, the Madhya Pradesh police had buried Murlinath without waiting for any claimant to come forward to take the body.

The issue has assumed such serious proportions that an angry Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy discussed the issue with the state home minister P Sabita Indra Reddy and other top police officials and directed that a three member committee should probe the incident.

"The committee has been asked to complete the probe in a week's time and submit its report", said Sabita Indra Reddy. "No officer however big he might be, will be spared by the government".

Apart from the ADG Dubey, the commandant of the State Armed Reserve, Amberpet, Abraham Lincoln was also in trouble as he had sent the constable on the request of Dubey.

Though constables are known to work as domestic servants at the homes of senior officers, it is first time that it was found that constable was sent to another city to work. According to constable's wife Kavita, who took the matter to the AP State Human Rights Commission, Murlinath faced a lot of harassment by the IPS officer's family and he was forced to wash cloth and clean bathroom.

The state human rights commission chairman Justice Subhashin Reddy also expressed unhappiness over the matter and asked the government to bear all the expenses for the funeral of the constable. The body was being brought back to Hyderabad on Tuesday.

The home minister announced that a second post-mortem will be conducted on the body as part of the investigations. She went to constable's home and consoled the family and assured that the government will take care of it.

As Murlinath belongs to the Dalit community, several Dalit organisations have also taken up the issue and held protest demonstrations at different places in Hyderabad. The family has demanded that a case under SC/ST atrocities act should be booked against ADG Dubey.

Interestingly. even as Murlinath had gone missing, the State Armed Reserve officials had issued orders to other constables to go to Delhi to take his place. But after Murlinath's body was found and issue took a serious turn, the orders were cancelled.